Into Darkness
Session 40 The black iron archway looms menacingly in an otherwise quiet forest clearing. The sickening, roiling portal casting an eerie red glow on the party as they march forward. Jamlamin stops short... Jamlamin "This is as far as I go. I have no stake in this journey and I owe you people very little. The Daern is safe and that's all that matters to me. I'll protect this end of the portal but once it closes I'm leaving." The party silently nod. Dael wonders why Jamlamin even stayed as long as he did. The party hold their breath as they pass through the door to Tartarus. Red light envelops the party and slowly fades to black. The ground falls away as they suddenly experience the sensation of acceleration. Moments later they regain consciousness. Rilken opens a single eye, noticing he is laying face down on a paved road, black and glossy stones covered with a loose sooty dust that sticks to his beak and feathers. He looks around to see Dael, Marcy, Illiaph and Alistyre similarly splayed out on the ground. Rilken takes a quick survey of his surroundings. The road seems precariously perched on a cliff side and leads from the portal behind them to a smooth iron wall before them. The portal behind them casts a faint blue-green glow, which provides the only illumination other than some very faint lights in the endless bog of pitch below them. A wide sickly green river snakes its way from beyond the horizon into the citadel of Tartarus. Dael immediately searches for a way through the iron wall. An apparent set of massive doors seems barred from the other side. The fortress before them seems impregnable. Alistyre points out a small footpath down the cliff side leading towards the bog and the party begin picking their way down the ashy mountain face. The air near the bog is thick and heavy. Moving through it is almost like moving through water. On the edge of the river, Dael's sharp eyes alert the party to a figure moving through the mist. They all dive for cover as a large craft silently cuts to the rivers edge. A figure on the vessel, hooded, cowled, and unusually tall, wickedly beckons the party on board his ferry. The party look to Rilken who explains that this is a ferryman, dark figures who ferry souls to their final destinations. The ferryman invites them aboard his ferry and then holds out a withered hand. Alistyre puts several gold pieces in his palm but they are instantly dumped onto the deck. It is then that they notice the deck is strewn with the withered mummies of ancient passengers. The ferryman demands greater payment and after many tries, it accepts Parun's Coin which quickly disappears into his tattered robes. The ferry is pushed off shore with a hiss and a groan from the river. The river itself passes through the great Tartarun Gates before winding it's way back to Limbo. Approaching the ramparts, Dael's sharp elven sight spies lookouts on the walls. The party take shelter under the ancient corpses as the barge passes through the gates. An ear splitting crack is heard from the citadel. As the ferry makes it's way through a patchwork of sharp walls, crumbling docks, and ebony stones, the party spot the dreadful queen of erinyes. Tilphousia, the queen of Tartarus appears in her beautiful and terrible form atop a tall tower amid a field of chained spirits. Wheeling above her head is a burning lash of blood-red flame which lashes hundreds of feet long, reaching even the most distant spirit. Another explosive crack sounds throughout the citadel as the whip literally rends a humanoid soul to pieces. The party shiver at the thought of coming face to face with Azogun's dark queen. The ferryman beaches his barge behind a large jutting stone and waits for the party to disembark. The creature makes several odd jerking motions before looking around and shoving the party off his boat and onto shore. He snaps his fingers twice and points to a ancient dock further down the beach before pushing off. Another bone-shuddering crack from Tilphousia's whip marks the end of another spirit. Illiaph's familiar bounds through a nearby courtyard, relaying the positions of several armored humanoids as well as several armed and manned ballistae and a small passageway which seemingly leads deeper into the citadel. Alistyre quietly summons various stone elementals. The earthen creatures storm the ramparts, serving as a distraction while the party slip though the passageway into the citadel proper. Funiku's map is simple but understandable and guides the party through the maze of twisting passageways. They come across a perfectly round room in the maze. dozens of passages lay before them, leading further into the citadel. Above each doorway is a small emblem. According to the map, they must follow the emblems in a certain order. Spiked ring, dripping eye, twisted manacles. They go through the first door, marked by the ring of spikes. A long hallway ends is a massive iron door. Obvious mechanisms keep the imposing door sealed. Branching from the hallway are six passageways, four of them ending in small rooms with great pull chains. A simple puzzle if every edge of the walls and floors weren't covered in razor sharp spikes. Alistyre can easily manage the passageway. Shapeshifting into a small monkey, Alistyre tied ropes to each of the pull chains. His plan worked and all pull chains were tied in place. The rest of the party relied on Illiaph's dimension door to cross to the other side. Working together, they pull the rope as hard as they can and The massive door grinds open. The party rush through the tunnel as the door grinds closed behind them. The tunnel leads to another perfectly round room. Dozens of emblems hang over the doors. Signs indicating treasure, scenes of violence, unknown symbols, and all manner of mortal temptations draw their curiosity. They find the passage with the dripping eye, and manage to avoid the temptation of other emblems. The winding passage widens to a large iron door, caked with rust. It takes the combined effort of the party to loosen it, and with a crunch and a creak, the ancient door swivels on its crumbling hinges. A rush of fetid milky-white liquid soaks the parties boots and immediately their eyes begin to sting and burn, blindness follows a moment later. Within the room beyond a creature sloshes through the murkey liquid. A shakey voice screeches out in the iron chamber; Blind Creature "Who goes!? Who's there!? Master!? Master have you finally returned for me? I no longer wish to leave! I no longer disobey!" The creatures size is apparent by the calamitous splashing and thunderous footfalls. The party retreat to the hallway, still blinded by the vapourous fluids. Alistyre "We are not your master large one! What manner of beast are you?" Blind Creature "Mortals!? HERE!? How did you come to this place? You came here for me!? Your kind can't help yourselves can you? Even here, I am not safe. I am an ancient of sea and sky laid low! My kind raised cities and sank islands and now I am to die alone in this stinking pool!" Dael "We do not seek you or what is yours, beast. We only seek passage to Azogun's chambers." Rilken "In your master holds is what we seek." Blind Creature "You do not wish my hide? my blood? my gold? I lived for as long as I have desperate to avoid the fate of my brothers. Be on your way then, and tell none of my miserable state. I will assist you, but in exchange I ask that you bring to me the mirror with jade claws." The tremendous creature pushes open another rusted door and slinks off deeper into some unseen tunnel. The party grope blindly forward, finding the pathway the creature left for them. Once they find themselves free of the liquid, they move to a secure alcove and tend to their eyes. Dael and Alistyre's magic restores sight to the party and they find themselves at yet another door. This one, made of polished dark stone. A symbol of an anvil carved into the face of it indicates that they are near Azogun's chambers. EXP and Journal